Gang of Eight seeks alternative border plan

Sen. Marco Rubio initially praised a border security proposal from Sen. John Cornyn, helping to make it the leading choice of conservatives demanding tighter enforcement measures.

Now others in the Gang of Eight fear Cornyn’s plan could sink their entire immigration deal.

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Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is beginning to speak out forcefully against the Cornyn language, bombarding the Texas Republican with critical comments from the Senate floor. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is lobbying other Republicans on potential compromises. And Rubio, although he said Wednesday that the Cornyn plan “dramatically improves the bill,” is working on a package that others in the Gang of Eight hope could emerge as an alternative.

The fear of some bill proponents: the longer the Cornyn plan hangs out there, the more likely it will become a magnet for Republicans — and accepting anything short of it will be considered a sacrifice. If that happens, then the Gang of Eight won’t be able to get the large bipartisan majority that its leaders, including McCain and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), are seeking.

The border security showdown is the first major challenge to the Senate’s bipartisan immigration overhaul since it hit the floor this week, dividing the GOP and testing the ability of the Gang of Eight to negotiate a solution that picks up key Republicans without alienating Democrats.

“It’s a poison pill,” McCain said of the Cornyn plan. “Hopefully we can have an alternative that satisfies some of the concerns without killing the bill. … It’s not possible for us to support his amendment as it is presently written because it is a poison pill.”

But with no Gang-sanctioned alternative yet, a number of Republicans — including some viewed as swing votes — are gravitating toward the Cornyn plan. It would block undocumented immigrants from gaining green cards until the government meets certain border security metrics, which Democrats view as so subjective that they may never be reached.

There is grumbling among some Democrats that they’re in this bind because Rubio — a key Gang member — made border security an issue by saying it needed to be tightened in order to get 60 Senate votes. Then, the Florida Republican embraced the Cornyn plan when it was announced last week. And on Sean Hannity’s radio show Wednesday, Rubio described it as “an excellent place to start in terms of having that conversation.”

But when pressed by Hannity to say he wouldn’t back reform unless complete control of the border is guaranteed, Rubio hedged.

“The thing I’m trying to avoid is all that ultimatum language because I think it undermines what we’re trying to do,” he said. “I’m not here to blow anything up. I want to make this thing better.”

Throughout the debate, Rubio has sought to publicly align himself with conservatives and keep his distance from the Gang of Eight, even as he continues to privately work with the group. The members have tolerated the seemingly-conflicting messages at times from Rubio because his continued involvement is critical to lining up GOP votes – and the Gang still truly believe that Rubio is committed to the bill and won’t agree to changes that gut the delicate compromise.

But the machinations on border security is sharpening the divide, at least publicly, between Rubio and the rest of the group.